The numbers: The National Federation of Independent Business small-business optimism index fell 2.6 points in November to a seasonally adjusted level of 104.8, the lowest in seven months. Most of the decline coming from expectations about future sales and business conditions.
What happened: No components of the index gained during the month, and only two were flat. Still, NFIB, a lobby group for small-business owners, pointed to an “exceptionally strong two-year trend” for the sentiment tracker. The November decline was the third in a row.
